General Maritime Corp. to pay out huge dividend

General Maritime Corp. has announced a surprise $15/share dividend as well as a significant revision of its overall dividend policy. GenMar chairman Peter Georgiopoulos called the one-time payout a “major milestone for shareholders”; while the company said that it would now adopt a “fixed quarterly target of $0.50/share” for future dividends. GenMar’s dividend policy was revised in conjunction with an extension of the company’s Nordea-led credit facility from $800M to $900M. The dividend news overshadowed GenMar’s financial results, which were predictably leaner on a leaner fleet. GenMar reported 4Q06 net income of $22.4M versus $104.6M during the same period last year, with full-year 2006 net income of $156.8M versus $212.4M in 2005. The much-lower 4Q06 results were attributable to a 54% decrease in revenue days and an 18% drop in average TCE for its spot vessels. For the full year, however, GenMar increased its fleet’s average TCE by 13%, to $34,487. Looking forward, asserted that GenMar would seek opportunities to acquire assets of up to $1Bn in value”.